Gold eases as dollar strengthens on stimulus hopes

Gold eased on Monday, having touched a six-week low earlier in the session, clamped down by a firm dollar and higher US Treasury yields due to hopes of more fiscal stimulus.

Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,845.96 per ounce by 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT), after touching its lowest since Dec. 2 at $1,816.53.

US gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,846.50.

"We've seen a little rebound in the dollar, a slight pickup in yields and as a result we have seen some commodities' markets, including the metals pull back," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.

A "quiet period" prior to the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration in Washington "and the Democratic agenda being put forward" in terms of interest rates, liquidity and stimulus, is also weighing on the metals, Meger added.

The dollar index scaled a near three-week peak, helped by gains in the US 10-year Treasury yield.

"If the yield curve becomes steeper and differentials become much wider, expect to see a strong recovery in the dollar despite the new billions in expected stimulus," Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said in a note.

US President elect Biden said on Friday that he plans to unveil a plan costing trillions of dollars in coronavirus relief.

While gold has generally been seen as a hedge against the inflation and currency debasement that could result from widespread stimulus, especially last year, that has changed as higher bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-interest yielding bullion.

Elsewhere, silver fell 1% to $25.12 per ounce, having earlier hit a near one-month low of $24.30.

Silver "should continue moving in gold's slipstream", Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said in a note.

Platinum dropped 3.1% to $1,031.70 per ounce while palladium fell 0.5% to $2,358.75.